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The European Transport White Paper 2011 sets high modal shift targets from road freight to rail 50% by 2050. The objective of this paper is to determine the rolling stock fleet size and type up to the year 2050 and associated challenges for stakeholders. Considering the White paper targets, three scenarios are considered; a) Business as usual or Reference Scenario – extrapolation of current trends without major policy change; b) White Paper 2011 Low Scenario (WPL) based on a partial implementation of the modal shift targets and c) White Paper 2011 High Scenario (WPH) based on the full implementation of modal shift targets. To determine the future fleet size, the current paper also conducts a sensitivity analysis assuming 60% productivity level as a base line. The study finds, among others, that significantly more rolling stock (in particular flat wagons, covered wagons and covered hopper wagons) as well as improved asset utilisation will be vital to facilitate the transport of increased freight volume. A unified rail freight system starting with nine Rail Freight Corridors and cooperation among the rail freight operators, wagons manufacturers and companies involved in leasing and hiring wagons will be very important to achieve the modal shift. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy saving has become a key concern of metro systems to reduce operating costs and meet the requirements of sustainable development. Energy-efficient timetabling, an effective way to reduce traction energy consumption, has gotten much attention in recent decades. However, limited research about energy-efficient timetabling simultaneously considered realistic speed profiles and the influence of train loads, which change greatly in different sections and significantly affect energy consumption. Therefore, this paper proposes an energy-efficient timetabling approach to improve regenerative energy utilization based on varying train loads and realistic speed profiles for bidirectional metro lines. First, based on the operational and safety constraints, this paper constructs an integer energy-efficient timetabling model where dwell times and nonuniform headways are taken as decision variables. Besides, the turnaround process is also considered to ensure rolling stock circulation efficiency. Sectional passenger volumes are employed to determine the varying train loads. Energy consumption is calculated based on realistic speed profiles. Owing to the complexity of the model, an improved adaptive large neighborhood search (ALNS) algorithm is designed to solve this model according to its characteristics. Finally, numerical examples are conducted based on the practical data from Shanghai Metro Line 17. The results indicate that the proposed approach effectively solves the energy-efficient timetabling problem with varying train loads and realistic speed profiles for bi-directional metro lines. The approach is suitable for off peak hours and can reduce energy consumption effectively, and the reduction is up to 11.9% for the presented cases. The improved ALNS algorithm can find good solutions within reasonable times in different cases. Moreover, compared with the widely used genetic algorithm in the literature, the improved ALNS algorithm is more efficient in solving the proposed energy-efficient timetabling problem in different cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Railway operations are highly susceptible to delays and disruptions caused by various factors, such as technical issues, operational inefficiencies, and unforeseen events. To counter these delays and ensure efficient railway operations during real-time management, several rescheduling approaches can be implemented. Among these approaches, passenger-oriented rescheduling considers train rescheduling while taking passenger data into account, as opposed to operation-oriented rescheduling. This paper provides an overview of the former group of approaches. Particular focus is put on different ways passenger data is exploited to optimize rescheduling and on the measures, the approaches can decide on. The rescheduling measures typically considered vary from decisions on maintaining transfers, canceling trains, adding emergency trains, changing routes and orders of trains, skipping or adding stops at stations, short-turning trains, applying speed control, and modifying rolling stock compositions. In this regard, the paper presents a comprehensive analysis of real-time rescheduling approaches adopted in both the conventional railway and urban rail transit and points out possible directions for further research in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Repoint is an alternative concept for the design of track switches developed at Loughborough University. The concept, based around a stub switch, offers several improvements over current designs. Through a novel locking arrangement, it allows parallel, multi-channel actuation and passive locking functions, providing a high degree of fault tolerance. The aim of the work presented in this paper is to evaluate the dynamic interaction forces due to the passage of rolling stock over the switch and, particularly, the area of the stub rail ends, in comparison to a conventional switch. Specific behaviour and load transfer conditions from one rail to the other at the joint are analysed, as well as long-term wear conditions of the rails. These evaluations are undertaken by means of multi-body dynamic simulations, leading to design refinement of the stub rail ends and the identification of further research and development requirements in their design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The railway industry forecasts growth in passenger and freight traffic over the next 30 years. This places additional demands on rolling stock depot facilities, many of which were designed and built before the modern age of information technology. This paper explores the potential of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of rolling stock maintenance management to meet the challenges of the near future, by utilising advanced computing techniques. The objective of the work is to create optimised maintenance plans for a fleet of trains, considering optimal use of resources. As a "glue" for joining up functions and operations, a generic Depot and Vehicle ontology (called the Virtual Depot) is introduced. The ontology captures the structures, relationships, and attributes of objects in the Depot (rolling stock, sensors, depot assets, tools, resources, and staff). The ontology is populated with example company and fleet-specific knowledge using an automated knowledge acquisition method. This paper describes the systematic method for the creation of a Virtual Depot. Two particular aspects are discussed in detail—knowledge acquisition of fleet-specific information obtained from a manufacturer's Vehicle Maintenance Instruction manuals and the construction of a short-term scheduling process within the Virtual Depot. Our evaluation considers the integrative aspects of the method, demonstrating how the ontological structure and its acquired specific information informs and benefits the scheduling process, in particular with respect to schedule optimisation. Results from an initial case study show there is significant potential to optimise short-term maintenance schedules, and the ability to automatically consider resource availability in short-term scheduling is demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the expansion of the metropolitan area, the application of express/local mode is gradually increasing. In contrast to the normal mode, the express/local mode has advantages in reducing energy consumption and saving total travel time by having express trains skipping some stops. This paper aims to minimize the total energy consumption of express and local train throughout the day by optimizing the train operation strategy in the same power supply section and increasing the overlap time between train traction acceleration and train regenerative braking to obtain the optimal energy‐efficient timetable. As the consumed energy of a train is highly dependent on the rolling stock weight and the on‐board passengers' weight. An integer programming model is proposed with on‐board passengers considered accurately, in which the dwell times, departure headway, and total turnaround time of express and local trains are determined. An improved grey wolf algorithm is designed by improving convergence factor and incorporating differential evolution to solve the proposed problem. The real data on Guangzhou Metro Line 18 is adopted for numerical studies. The results show that the optimized timetable increases the regenerative energy utilization rate by 21.37% and reduces the total energy consumption by 5.02% compared to the operational timetable. This paper aims to minimize the total energy consumption of express and local train throughout the day by optimizing the train operation strategy in the same power supply section and increasing the overlap time between train traction acceleration and train regenerative braking to obtain the optimal energy‐efficient timetable. An integer programming model is proposed with on‐board passengers considered accurately, in which the dwell times, departure headway, and total turnaround time of express and local trains are determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reviewed the status quo of research on machine learning (ML), including deep learning, in the rail industry. This study conducted a scientometric analysis and critical review of 640 papers selected from 12,675 web-crawled papers. The extensive and complex networks of topics, researchers, and countries were analyzed using the Louvain method, a co-occurrence keyword analysis, a degree centrality analysis, and other network analysis methods. The results indicate that the majority of studies of ML in the rail industry focused on maintenance activities and traffic management, and mainly targeted rolling stock, rails, and passengers. Overhead contact systems, including catenaries, are a high-demand objective for ML-based maintenance. Although analyses of tunnels and stations remain rare, passenger flow prediction, station air quality estimation, shield tunneling performance improvement, and ground settlement are areas of high importance. Geographically, China, the US, and the United Kingdom lead ML studies in the rail industry, and the level of collaboration is higher among European countries than among countries on other continents. Future challenges include ensuring the security and stability of ML, along with considering novel mindsets, the black-box effect, improvements in ML techniques, and resource overload when introducing ML technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green railway transport (RT) is not always a completely green transport solution, as there are still many nonelectrified or partially electrified lines in operation with polluting engine traction. Although electric rail is the most environmentally friendly, electrification of lines is a time-consuming and costly project, especially on less busy lines where electrification would be inefficient and unprofitable. Even though electric railway is the most environmentally friendly solution, electrification of lines is a time-consuming and expensive project, especially on less frequented lines where electrification would be inefficient and unprofitable. Alternative propulsion (AP) in RT is not only a way to reduce the operational emissions of passenger trains, but also to save energy and fuel, save time due to vehicle changes, and reduce the overall carbon footprint from transporting goods and people. The aim of this paper is to examine in detail the current state of development and availability within the AP railway industry, specifically for passenger transport needs, and to transparently present the results in a simple and clear way. In addition, the paper explores the possibility of applying the alternatively powered system to the conditions of the H0 model railway and research with this model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The object of the research of the article is transport system of a city. The paper reviews the necessity to assess the greenhouse emissions in the city and proposes the methods for greenhouse emissions inventory of the urban transport system. The proposed approach is aligned with guidelines for the development of Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP) of Mayor Covenants of European Union (EU). The methodologies outlined in the paper allow to estimate annual greenhouse emissions from transport sector. The SECAP defines transport sectors based on ownership and functioning as following: municipal transport fleet, public transport, and private and commercial transport. The paper proposes the methodology to estimate direct and indirect emissions in each of the described sector based on the information that is typicaly available to municipalities in Ukraine. The assessment is conducted on disaggregated level for different fuel types (diesel, petroleum, natural gas, biofuel, electricity, etc.) and separately for each fleet type (buses, trucks, passenger vehicles, specialized machinery). Total CO2 emissions are then estimated by multiplying the amount of fuel consumed by the emission factor for each fuel type and vehicle type. Information of fuel consumption is estimated based on annual milage and estimated based on available data and number of assumptions proposed in the paper. The proposed methodology for greenhouse emissions inventory for the transport sector allows to analyze available data, recommendations for data collection and a methodology for determining CO2 emissions from the operation of the transport system with sufficient accuracy of calculations. Based on these results, it is possible to forecast changes in energy consumption and emissions in the transport sector as a result of various interventions. For example, in Zhytomyr city the results of inventory were used to develop a set of measures, which include updating the rolling stock of electric transport; increasing the energy efficiency of the power grids of the transport system, developing cycling infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyses the history of two-axle rail vehicles (rail buses) used for operation on regional lines in Czechoslovakia. It also shows trends in the development of modern light autonomous rolling stocks usable for passenger transport on unprofitable regional lines in Western Europe. The measures adopted in the transport policy of the Czech Republic for the period 2021-2027 for regional railway vehicles in the Czech Republic are presented. The final part of the paper presents the results of study of the concepts of a two-axle hybrid and electric rail buses and a conceptual design of a modular solution of a partially low-floor vehicle BEMU and HEMU for passenger regional rail transport. This paper shows that it is very problematic to create a light rail vehicle (LVR) that will be economical and environmentally friendly for regional transport and at the same time will meet the requirements of standards ČSN EN 12 663, category P2 and ČSN EN 15 227, category C I and will be friendly to road users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with the problem of obtaining a given dynamic behavior of simply supported bridge beams from the impact of rolling stock. Resonant vibrations of beams become a reality at high speeds if the train is formed of identical cars, which is typical for passenger trains. The phenomenon of suppression of beam vibrations by a train, known from publications, is possible only with an exact ratio of the length of the car and the beam. This significantly reduces the possibilities of choosing the necessary spans of beams. Consideration of issues of interaction in the "bridge–track—train" system for security purposes requires the involvement of a rather complex mathematical apparatus and appropriate software. The paper proposes a new method for determining the specified dynamic behavior of bridge beams, suitable for any spans and available to engineers at the stage of pre-design assignment of dynamic parameters of beams. The requirements that are necessary and sufficient conditions for preventing the resonance of bridge beams on the HSR are determined. At the same time, it does not require the involvement of software based on a complex mathematical technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, the dynamic behavior of rolling stocks is an essential problem. In dynamic simulation, the correct wheel-rail contact modeling is an important task. In this paper, the stiffness of the wheel-rail contact zone is found by a new, direct, and simplified formulation. This subject is developed by applying more details, such as surface roughness based on the surface topography and hardening effects of a real contact problem. These characteristics have not been considered altogether in other similar works. In this work, the contact stiffness and frequency results are obtained for different material properties and verified with analytical and experimental research. It is shown that the presented new direct method with an acceptable accuracy is easier to use than the complicated existing methods. This paper discusses the effects of contact parameter variations on contact stiffness and frequency. For example, it is shown that the contact stiffness decreases by increasing the surface roughness and increases by increasing the strain-hardening factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ATC signal equipment is an important equipment for controlling rolling stock (subways). The on-board system is closely connected with the control circuit system of the vehicle, and there are many electrical interfaces and information interfaces between them. As the on-board ATC signal equipment and the vehicle belong to two systems, the joint debugging between the systems is aff ected by many factors such as time, site and so on. At present, there is no equipment available that can independently detect the internal digital signal functions of the boards and cards onboard the vehicle, and there is a lack of special tools to verify the functions of the boards and cards after medium and large-scale overhaul. There are safety risks during the dynamic debugging on the test line after static overhaul. This paper mainly describes a debugging device that replaces professional vehicle equipment. The device is connected with the female head of int connector. Under the static condition of the train, OMAP software is used to force and drive the internal digital signal of the board or card, so as to test whether the internal contact of the board or card works normally. The positions of faulty components can be accurately identified before dynamic train testing. This device improves the efficiency of dynamic train debugging and further improves the maintenance quality and standard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rolling stock manufacturers are finding innovative structural solutions to improve the quality and reliability of railway vehicles components. Structural optimization processes represent an effective strategy for reducing manufacturing costs, resulting in geometries easier to design and produce. In this framework, the present paper proposes a new methodology to design a railway metro bogie frame, combining structural–topological optimization methods and sensitivity analysis. In addition, manufacturing constraints were included to make the component design suitable for production through sand-casting. A robust sensitivity analysis has highlighted the most critical load conditions acting on the bogie frame. Its effectiveness was verified by carrying out two different structural optimizations based on different loadings. Two equivalent designs were obtained. Computational times were positively reduced by about 57%. The maximum value of stress was reduced about 23%. This new methodology has shown encouraging results to streamline the design process of this complex mechanical system, allowing researchers to also include manufacturing requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Track deterioration models (TDMs) help to allocate maintenance work (direct costs) to vehicle runs. Furthermore, these models demonstrate the impact of rolling stock properties on infrastructure. This paper review provides an overview of the state of the art in railway track deterioration modelling and outlines the research potential in this domain. The main focus lies on ballast degradation, rail surface wear and fatigue, and their description in an empiric analytic wear formula. The basis for discussion is the wear formula of the Graz University of Technology. While the TDM demonstrates effectiveness, enhancements are sought, particularly with regard to adjusting the track parameters that vary across railway networks. Further exploration aims to refine the description of rail surface wear and rolling contact fatigue (RCF), incorporating factors such as traction energy and short-wave effects and adapting mathematical functions such as the t-Gamma function. This review underscores the need for ongoing research to develop TDMs that are both simple and detailed enough to encourage track-friendly rolling stock design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. Improving the efficiency of interaction between enterprises that operate public and private railway infrastructure when performing cargo transportation and cargo operations. Methodology. The studies were carried out using the methods of the theory of railway operation and economic and mathematical modeling. Findings. The study found that the transition from a planned economy to a market economy along with increasing customer requirements for the composition and quality of transport services is an objective reason for an increase in carriage downtime at private sidings and junction stations, a shortage of track capacity and shunting locomotives. It is shown that the existing approaches to assessing the effectiveness of the interaction between train tracks of enterprises and mainline railways are aimed at improving the performance of the rolling stock and do not create incentives to solve the problem of the shortage of transfer and processing capacity of the railway infrastructure. Originality. The paper proposes an improved method for assessing the effectiveness of the interaction of participants in the transportation process when performing transportation and cargo operations on the private sidings of industrial enterprises, based on the time the infrastructure is occupied. This approach, unlike the existing one, encourages railways and industrial enterprises to jointly search for the best technological solutions for the use of public and private railway infrastructure. Practical value. The method proposed in the paper for assessing the interaction of participants in the transportation process makes it possible to separate station services in the tariff for the use of the railway infrastructure into separate services of service facilities and track access to them. This will create a competitive environment and encourage participants in the transportation process to use the existing railway infrastructure and develop a new one to obtain a synergistic effect more efficiently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents IRONEDGE, an architectural framework that can be used in different edge Stream Processing solutions for "Smart Infrastructure" scenarios, on a case-by-case basis. The architectural framework identifies the common components that any such solution should implement and a generic processing pipeline. In particular, the framework is considered in the context of a study case regarding Internet of Things (IoT) devices to be attached to rolling stock in a railway. A lack of computation and storage resources available in edge devices and infrequent network connectivity are not often seen in the existing literature, but were considered in this paper. Two distinct implementations of IRONEDGE were considered and tested. One, identified as Apache Kafka with Kafka Connect (K0-WC), uses Kafka Connect to pass messages from MQ Telemetry Transport (MQTT) to Apache Kafka. The second scenario, identified as Apache Kafka with No Kafka Connect (K1-NC), allows Apache Storm to consume messages directly. When the data rate increased, K0-WC showed low throughput resulting from high losses, whereas K1-NC displayed an increase in throughput, but did not match the input rate for the Data Reports. The results showed that the framework can be used for defining new solutions for edge Stream Processing scenarios and identified a reference implementation for the considered study case. In future work, the authors propose to extend the evaluation of the architectural variation of K1-NC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the motivations for the application of actively controlled elements in the running gear of a rail vehicle and the challenges that need to be addressed before deploying vehicles with actively controlled elements in real operation. Furthermore, the paper presents the design of an active element concept and its control for steering the axles of an urban rail vehicle to improve the vehicle's passage through small radius curves. The design takes into account the fundamental issues of cost and safety of the application of active elements, which are addressed in the presented control design by using data from autonomous driving subsystems such as the environmental database or the anti-collision system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rolling stock might function at an optimum level in reliability, availability, maintainability, and safety with comprehensive maintenance. The past decade has seen rapid development in the management of maintenance costs in many sectors such as the automotive and aviation industry. However, there is a lack in a number of studies focusing on rolling stock maintenance costs. This article provides comprehensive knowledge on the rolling stock maintenance cost. Recently, the research found no specific literature reviews that focus on typical rolling stock maintenance costs. This paper attempts to review, identify and discuss the influential costs involved in rolling stock maintenance. This research systematically reviews and classifies a substantial number of published papers and suggests a classification of specific cost categories according to rolling stock needs. The results revealed that 27 variables have contributed to the rolling stock maintenance costs. The highest among the influential costs are 13.8% spare part cost, 11% life cycle cost, 6.4% preventive maintenance cost, and 4.6% for the workforce, corrective maintenance, and cost of ownership, respectively. The interrelationship between influential costs and their effects on rolling stock costs is further discussed. More importantly, the paper is intended to provide a comprehensive view of influential costs affecting rolling stock maintenance and give useful references for personnel working in the industry as well as researchers. This research has highlighted the possibility of future major studies to minimize the identified maintenance cost and industry to optimize its operational cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses real-world experiments in which selected ground imperfections were dynamically analysed in terms of track susceptibility for a linear and non-linear system. The imperfections included wheel pressure on local ground irregularities within the railway turnout. In this study, susceptibility was assumed as an element between two points (two masses)—most often susceptibility is assumed as a Voigt model (parallel combination of stiffness and damping). The tests were carried out for two configurations of train passage through a railway turnout on straight and diverging track. The track stiffness parameters of the railway turnout were determined from deflection measurements measured by sensors positioned at different points of the turnout. The components of the railway turnout were loaded with different forces. The damping parameter was determined from bench measurements of the actual track component. The function describing this damping is dry friction and such a function was determined. The second part of the study was concerned with measurements of stiffness and moments of inertia in a railway switchyard. The analysis carried out indicated the significance of the adverse effects of selected factors on the operation of the railway track (e.g., increasing the length of non-contact of the track with the ground or additional deflections of the railway track rail arising). The paper points out that such imperfections, in addition to the calculated additional deflections, cause, among other things, disturbances in the progressive movement of the rolling stock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessing the technical condition of a railway track throughout its service life is crucial to ensuring functional safety. However, it is important to note that current approaches have theoretical and practical gaps that require attention. The purpose of this study is to discuss the reconceptualization of an integrated approach to assess changes in the technical condition of railway tracks caused by rolling stock over their service life. Improving existing systems for assessing the condition of the track can be achieved by modifying the model concept and, subsequently, the measurement and assessment procedures. This paper presents an alternative method for addressing technical issues related to the monitoring and diagnosis of railway tracks, with a particular focus on natural phenomena: energy transfer by elastic waves. The primary aim of this work is to propose an approach for designing a 'closed' measurement system that enables tracking of the cause-and-effect relationship. This system takes into account both the elastic dissipative characteristics of the track–rolling stock interaction and the influence of the dynamics of various components in the 'train-track' system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the railway sector, rolling stock and infrastructure must be maintained in perfect condition to ensure reliable and safe operation for passengers. Climate change is affecting the urban and regional infrastructure through sea level rise, water accumulations, river flooding, and other increased-frequency extreme natural situations (heavy rains or snows) which pose a challenge to maintenance. In this paper, the use of artificial intelligence based on predictive maintenance implementation is proposed for the early detection of degraded conditions of a bridge due to extreme climatic conditions. For this prediction, continuous monitoring is proposed, with the aim of establishing alarm thresholds to detect dangerous situations, so restrictions could be determined to mitigate the risk. However, one of the main challenges for railway infrastructure managers nowadays is the high cost of monitoring large infrastructures. In this work, a methodology for monitoring railway infrastructures to define the optimal number of transductors that are economically viable and the thresholds according to which infrastructure managers can make decisions concerning traffic safety is proposed. The methodology consists of three phases that use the application of machine learning (Random Forest) and artificial cognitive systems (LSTM recurrent neural networks). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of the statistical values of wear of brake pads in operation, based on which a wear model was developed, is presented in this paper. This model can be used for predicting the remaining service life of brake pads according to the wagon mileage. The distribution function of wear on the upper and lower parts of the pad was determined, which made it possible to find the main qualitative characteristics, namely, the wear intensity, the γ-percentage wear, and the average pad wear at a specified wagon mileage. The results of the study can be factored for solving complex engineering problems of excessive wear of composite brake pads used for freight rolling stock; they could also help to extend the guaranteed overhaul period and improve the railway traffic safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Railway infrastructure is generally classified as either fixed or movable infrastructure assets. Failure in any of the assets could lead to the complete shutdown and disruption of the entire system, economic loss, inconvenience to passengers and the train operating company(s), and can sometimes result in death or injury in the event of the derailment of the rolling stock. Considering the importance of the railway infrastructure assets, it is only necessary to continuously explore their behavior, reliability, and safety. In this paper, a proactive multi-criteria decision-making model that is based on an interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy set and some reliability quantitative parameters has been proposed for the evaluation of the reliability of the infrastructure assets. Results from the evaluation show that the failure mode 'Broken and defective rails' has the most risk and reliability concerns. Hence, priority should be given to the failure mode to avoid a total system collapse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generally, when optimizing a rolling stock schedule, the locations of the depots, or places in the network where the composition changes and maintenance occurs, are assumed known. The locations where maintenance is performed naturally influence the quality of any resulting rolling stock schedules. In this paper, the problem of selecting new depot locations and their corresponding capacities is considered. A two-stage mixed integer programming approach for rolling stock scheduling with maintenance requirements is extended to account for depot selection. First, a conventional flow-based model is solved, ignoring maintenance requirements, to obtain a variety of rolling stock schedules with multiple depot locations and capacity options. Then, a maintenance feasible rolling stock schedule can be obtained by solving a series of assignment problems by using the schedules found in the first stage. The proposed methodology is tested on real-life instances, and the numerical experiments of different operational scenarios are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The opening up of the railway to competition in Europe has been accompanied by many technical challenges never before seen in the railway field. One of these challenges concerns precise energy metering. As European railways have been a monopoly until now, the current systems can only measure the energy consumption of a single operator. In accordance with European law, the installation of an energy meter has been mandatory in new or refurbished rolling stocks since 2014. Nevertheless, these energy meters are still not fully reliable, with misreadings and missing readings being common occurrences. To address the problem of energy metering data reliability, this paper presents a method for validating the reading measurement based on a physical model and validates it in two different case studies. For the issue of energy metering data availability, different estimators are developed, and their performance are shown with the aim of calculating the missing consumptions for both case studies. Finally, the paper suggests how these methods may be implemented in other types of trains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of transport in underground hard coal mines is very rarely described in the literature. The financial aspects of this issue are even less often analyzed. Publications in this area focus on technical issues and the safety of mining crews. More attention is paid to transport in open-pit mines. The above premises and practical needs imply the need to conduct economic analyses of transport systems in underground hard coal mines. This paper is a scientific communication, which presents the concept of a multi-criteria cost analysis as a tool to support the selection of the optimal transportation option in an underground hard coal mine. Considerations in this area have not been carried out in the relevant literature, and the problem of selecting a transportation option is a complex and necessary issue in the practice of underground mines with extensive mine workings. The methodology presented includes five cost criteria (costs of carrying out the transportation task; route expansion costs; rolling stock maintenance costs; depreciation costs; and additional personnel costs). The simultaneous application of criteria relating to utility properties in addition to cost criteria makes it possible to adopt a specific technical and organizational model of the transportation system based on the indication of the optimal solution, resulting from the mathematical construction of functions of objectives relating to utility and cost. The optimal variant of the designed system and configuration of the material transportation system in underground workings takes into consideration the following: (1) seven utility criteria (KU1—transportation task completion time; KU2—compatibility of transportation systems; KU3—continuous connectivity; KU4—co-use with other transportation tasks; KU5—safety; KU6—inconvenience; KU7—operation under overplanning conditions) and (2) five cost criteria (KK1—costs of implementing the transportation task; KK2—costs of route expansion; KK3—rolling stock maintenance costs; KK4—depreciation costs; KK5—additional personnel costs). Based on the aforementioned criteria, two objective functions are built for each option: utility and cost. They present divergent goals; therefore, they are non-cooperative functions. Both utility and costs strive for the maximum. In the developed methodology, an ideal point is usually a fictitious solution representing a set of maximum values among all the achievable values in a set of solutions, but it is impossible to achieve this simultaneously based on all the criteria. This point illustrates the maximum utility and lowest cost among the alternatives considered, which is obviously impossible for any of the variants to meet at the same time, although it indicates the possibilities of the technique and the range of costs. For the developed method, a so-called "PND" nadir point is also determined, representing the least-preferred level of achievement of all goals simultaneously, determined from the set of optimal points in the Pareto sense. The originality of the conceptual considerations undertaken stems from: filling the gap in the economic methodology of complex transportation systems evaluation; embedding considerations in the trend concerning complex transportation systems of underground mines; and focusing considerations on the pre-investment phase, making it possible to optimize costs before expenditures are incurred. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]